But Cyrus had no intention of giving the Golden Lion too much time to think.
As a Logia user, the combination of Observation Haki and Devil Fruit ability could produce terrifying results.
Cyrus had already mastered the art of using the invisible flames spread through the surrounding area to shift his position.
Although he could not use that method to move an especially great distance in a single instant, moving freely within a certain range was easy enough.
Flames ignited as Cyrus vanished.
When he appeared again, he was already at the Golden Lion's side.
If he wanted to defeat these four, the best method was to take them down one by one.
The injured Silver Axe and the aging Golden Lion were the best points to break through.
As for Wang Zhi and Charlotte Linlin—
One had a physique that was far too monstrous.
Although Cyrus had injured Charlotte Linlin earlier, for someone like her, those wounds were at most superficial.
As for Wang Zhi, the man had been slacking off from the very beginning. Or rather, he had been hiding his true ability.
Cyrus could also sense that Wang Zhi was deliberately avoiding a direct confrontation with him.
Knowing all this clearly, Cyrus chose the Golden Lion as his breakthrough point.
His body emerged from the flames.
He drew his sword back, then swung it out with sudden force.
En traced a wide arc through the air, sending Silver Axe, who had been lunging in from the side, flying away before continuing toward the Golden Lion.
The Golden Lion raised both swords vertically in front of himself, attempting to block Cyrus's strike.
But the instant his twin blades met En, the Golden Lion's eyes widened sharply.
A tremendous force came through his two swords.
The blade Cyrus had swung down carried overwhelming power, pressing against the Golden Lion's crossed swords and driving straight toward him.
Then the Golden Lion was sent flying by Cyrus's single slash.
Boom!
The sword in Cyrus's hand burned violently.
Along with the slash, it spewed out a vast torrent of fire, completely swallowing the Golden Lion as he flew backward.
Cyrus's figure merged directly into the flames.
Outside the range of the blaze, the other three exchanged a glance, then attacked the mass of fire at the same time.
Their Observation Haki could not capture Cyrus as he moved through the flames, but it could still locate the Golden Lion.
Countless blades formed from fire were launching attacks at him.
The Golden Lion swung his twin swords wildly.
He was like a small boat caught in a raging storm, unable to break free and forced to desperately defend against attacks from every direction.
The temperature of the flames continued to rise.
The other three also understood Cyrus's intent, and the force behind their attacks increased once again.
The moment the three of them tried to approach the flames, they were immediately met with counterattacks.
Flame-like slashes shot out of the blaze as soon as they drew near, launching attacks against all three.
"He's planning to kill the Golden Lion!" Wang Zhi shouted after being forced back by the slashes flying out of the fire, warning Silver Axe and Big Mom.
Bang!
The instant his words fell, a blackened figure wreathed in smoke flew backward out of the flames.
Its target was Wang Zhi.
Seeing the figure, Wang Zhi instinctively reached out to catch him.
Then, from within the black smoke rising off the charred figure, a red blade silently appeared and stabbed toward Wang Zhi's chest.
Wang Zhi raised his hand, sweeping his double-edged sword upward in an attempt to block the incoming blade.
But when the blades collided, Wang Zhi finally understood what the Golden Lion had just experienced.
The moment his double-edged sword met the attacking blade, he realized he could not alter the direction of the thrust at all.
Wang Zhi's expression darkened. His body abruptly twisted to the side.
The blade that had originally been aimed straight at his chest only pierced through the flesh on one side of it.
Then came the burning pain.
Wang Zhi immediately retreated.
Bang!
The Golden Lion's charred figure was kicked out of the flames by a foot emerging from within.
After the air exploded with a sharp boom, the Golden Lion was already right in front of Wang Zhi.
This time, there was no blade suddenly stabbing out.
But the Golden Lion came flying with immense force and crashed straight into Wang Zhi.
Crack!
Wang Zhi heard the sound of his own bones breaking.
Cyrus walked out of the flames.
His expression looked extremely calm.
But in truth, that strike against the Golden Lion had consumed no small amount of power.
Within that domain of flames, he had used fire to shift positions dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of times in an instant, launching attacks while also keeping the other three outside the flames in check.
To put it simply, during that brief period, the output of his Devil Fruit ability had been pushed directly to the limit.
There had been no earth-shattering spectacle, but the consumption had not been low at all.
Still, judging by the result, it had been worth it.
For Cyrus, massive consumption merely meant a loss of health, and health was something he could easily replenish.
As for the other side, they had effectively lost one and a half fighters.
The slash aimed at Wang Zhi had not seriously wounded him, but being struck by the Golden Lion after Cyrus kicked him with full force was no different from taking one of Cyrus's full-strength kicks directly.
Cyrus turned, raising his sword.
He blocked the incoming sword and axe.
Charlotte Linlin and Silver Axe attacked together, but Cyrus caught both of their weapons with one hand on his blade.
"Will you surrender?" Cyrus asked calmly, holding their weapons in place.
"Mamamama! Brat, don't look down on me too much."
Charlotte Linlin said that, but the grave look on her face showed that her vigilance had already reached its peak.
"Don't waste words with him! That move he just used on the Golden Lion definitely isn't something he can use so easily!"
Seeing that Charlotte Linlin had actually started talking to Cyrus, Silver Axe immediately roared while putting more strength into his hands.
But Cyrus, who was blocking both their weapons with one hand, did not so much as tremble.
It was as though Silver Axe's strength had no effect whatsoever.
For no reason at all, a feeling of powerlessness rose in Silver Axe's heart.
"In that case…"
Cyrus turned his head and glanced at Silver Axe, his expression still calm.
"If you die, don't complain."
Earlier, when Cyrus attacked the Golden Lion, he had actually had a chance to kill him directly, but he had not done so.
One reason was the Golden Lion's ability. If he died, there was no telling where the Float-Float Fruit would reincarnate.
Another reason was the Golden Lion himself.
If Cyrus could subdue him later, he would undoubtedly be of great use.
Of course, Cyrus also knew that the chances of that were very small.
After all, these pirates of the older generation might be cunning, but each of them truly did carry certain convictions.
Hearing Cyrus's threat, Silver Axe's pupils contracted.
Then he abruptly retreated.
Charlotte Linlin was not slow either.
Her enormous body withdrew with a nimbleness completely at odds with her size.
Then the flames around Cyrus suddenly surged, rising fiercely into the air.
The domain of fire appeared once again.
And this time, the area covered by the flames was even larger than it had been during his battle with Kizaru in the North Blue.
In just a few breaths, the whole of Whole Cake Island was completely engulfed in fire.
A colossal blaze formed from flames covered the entire island.
Terrifying heat spread outward.
The island itself seemed to have become a fallen sun.
Those watching from the outer seas had originally still been able to make out, however vaguely, what was happening.
But now, as they looked at the scene of what seemed like half a sun rising from the surface of the sea, they all fell silent.
So this was why he was called the Sun God?
He really did look like a sun!